The owners were particularly intrigued by the possibility of thermal detection solutions to quickly and non-invasively detect symptoms of illness.
“Our team is passionate about leveraging tools, processes and technology to enable growth. The health and safety of our guests are the most important thing to us, so the idea of integrating thermal cameras along with remote temperature monitoring in our production and foodservice areas was very interesting,” stated Michael Chisnell, Ignite Brewing Co. partner.
But while thermal cameras offered a valuable way to help build confidence among customers and staff, owners knew it wouldn’t be feasible to manually check every person that walked through the door. They needed a scalable, automated solution that could not only collect temperature readings, but also provide actionable alerts as needed.
“My personal philosophy is, if I can’t run the business from my cell phone then we’re not doing something right.” Said Chisnell.
From food safety to public health
With Connected Platform already in place, they were able to quickly apply the same framework designed for food safety to this new use case.
Based on an evaluation of the space and the typical flow of traffic, Insight’s team recommended the Bolide® Advanced Thermal Camera system. This single point device uses video analytics to take quick, accurate readings of up to 30 guests at a time, eliminating the cost, risk and inconvenience associated with handheld checks.
“For a brewery like ours — and really any service-oriented business — having the ability to scan a group of people at one time was paramount to make sure we weren’t disrupting the flow of business or the experience that we seek for our guests,” Slater explained.
Insight worked with the Ignite team to deploy and integrate the camera through Connected Platform. In the event an elevated temperature is detected, integration with Connected Platform enables discreet, real-time alerts to be emailed directly to the Ignite leadership team to determine if communication with the taproom is required.
To help protect both the heath and privacy of their customers and staff, workflows are structured to ensure no Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is collected or stored, and that all data that’s used is secured.
“Insight was instrumental and a great partner throughout the full process, from device selection, deployment and integration through end-user training,” said Slater.
Simply back to business.
The seamless integration of thermal monitoring has earned Ignite Brewing a strong vote of confidence from the community. Thanks largely to the unobtrusive nature of the solution, employees and customers alike have embraced the system for its ability to help them get back to business as usual while prioritizing personal safety.
The experience that guests are having at Ignite is being shared, resulting in increased traffic and sales compared to the same period last year, despite the pandemic environment.
While signs around the building inform guests that temperatures are being monitored with a thermal camera, by and large, Ignite reports, they haven’t experienced any resistance. “When someone has asked about it, they think the fact that we’re pioneering this type of technology with Insight and Microsoft is phenomenal,” said Chisnell. “And they continue to be thankful for all that we’re doing to create and maintain the safest environment possible.”